Data Centre Infrastructure Management

Introduction

Peter Gallert

Department of Computer Networks

School of Computer Science
Faculty of Computing and Informatics
Namibia University of Science and Technology

1st Semester 2023

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 1 / 20
Chapter Outline

1 Introduction
What is a Data Centre?
History
Data centre requirements

2 Data centre architecture

Structured cabling
Floor space

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 2 / 20
 Introduction What is a Data Centre?

Definition

A data centre is. . .

. . . a collection of IT infrastructure in one room or building, for the
provision of IT services to one or more companies.

Data centre row in the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire

(CERN). By Simon Waldherron Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 3 / 20
 Introduction What is a Data Centre?

Features of a data centre

1 Enclosed room or building

2 Heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC)
3 Physical security
4 Structured cabling
5 Monitoring hardware and software
6 Dedicated staff

⇒ No ordinary users working here, only IT admin staff

⇒ Expensive to build and operate

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 4 / 20
 Introduction What is a Data Centre?

Features of a data centre

1 Enclosed room or building

2 Heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC)
3 Physical security
4 Structured cabling
5 Monitoring hardware and software
6 Dedicated staff

⇒ No ordinary users working here, only IT admin staff

⇒ Expensive to build and operate

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 4 / 20
 Introduction What is a Data Centre?

Services of a data centre

1 Data storage, management, backup, recovery

2 Business applications: Email, e–commerce, databases,
collaboration tools
3 Communications: Internet access, IP telephony,
videoconferencing,
4 Web hosting
5 High–performance computing

⇒ Everything too complex or too expensive to deploy stand–alone

⇒ Everything needed more than once in the institution

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 5 / 20
 Introduction What is a Data Centre?

Services of a data centre

1 Data storage, management, backup, recovery

2 Business applications: Email, e–commerce, databases,
collaboration tools
3 Communications: Internet access, IP telephony,
videoconferencing,
4 Web hosting
5 High–performance computing

⇒ Everything too complex or too expensive to deploy stand–alone

⇒ Everything needed more than once in the institution

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 5 / 20
 Introduction History

Early history

Until the 1970s: Computer = data centre

Very few computers, very expensive
Computer occupied an entire room
Remote users only had teletype access
1980s: Computers and networking equipment became ubiquitous
and inexpensive
PCs scattered everywhere
Impossible to administer and maintain: security, software, services
Need for centralised services: file storage, Internet access,
backups, updates
Emergence of the server room

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 6 / 20
 Introduction History

Early history

Until the 1970s: Computer = data centre

Very few computers, very expensive
Computer occupied an entire room
Remote users only had teletype access
1980s: Computers and networking equipment became ubiquitous
and inexpensive
PCs scattered everywhere
Impossible to administer and maintain: security, software, services
Need for centralised services: file storage, Internet access,
backups, updates
Emergence of the server room

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 6 / 20
 Introduction History

Emergence of data centres

Early 1990s: World Wide Web, B2B applications, network

equipment standardisation
Need and usage widely scaled
Cost and complexity much reduced
Networking all of the IT infrastructure
Sharing Internet connection and storage facilities
Late 1990s: Google, Dot–com bubble, e–commerce
Non–IT companies need powerful IT infrastructure
Outsourcing to specialised IT services providers
Data centres serve variety of customers under one roof

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 7 / 20
 Introduction History

Emergence of data centres

Early 1990s: World Wide Web, B2B applications, network

equipment standardisation
Need and usage widely scaled
Cost and complexity much reduced
Networking all of the IT infrastructure
Sharing Internet connection and storage facilities
Late 1990s: Google, Dot–com bubble, e–commerce
Non–IT companies need powerful IT infrastructure
Outsourcing to specialised IT services providers
Data centres serve variety of customers under one roof

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 7 / 20
 Introduction History

Newer trends

Software–As–A–Service (SaaS): Run applications in the data

centre
Platform–As–A–Service (PaaS): Create applications in the data
centre
Infrastructure–As–A–Service (IaaS) / Data centre
As–A–Service (DCaaS): Directly use data centre facilities and its
technical staff
Edge–specific data centres
Hyper–converged infrastructure: Virtualisation +
Software–defined network + Software–defined storage
Automation and robotics (financial processes, customer care,
social media marketing)
Green data centres

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 8 / 20
 Introduction History

Newer trends

Software–As–A–Service (SaaS): Run applications in the data

centre
Platform–As–A–Service (PaaS): Create applications in the data
centre
Infrastructure–As–A–Service (IaaS) / Data centre
As–A–Service (DCaaS): Directly use data centre facilities and its
technical staff
Edge–specific data centres
Hyper–converged infrastructure: Virtualisation +
Software–defined network + Software–defined storage
Automation and robotics (financial processes, customer care,
social media marketing)
Green data centres

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 8 / 20
 Introduction Data centre requirements

Aims of network design

1 Performance
2 Security
3 Availability
4 Manageability
5 Scalability

⇒ This is now the data centre’s problem!

⇒ Customer still concerned with this.
⇒ How can it be achieved?

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 9 / 20
 Introduction Data centre requirements

Aims of network design

1 Performance
2 Security
3 Availability
4 Manageability
5 Scalability

⇒ This is now the data centre’s problem!

⇒ Customer still concerned with this.
⇒ How can it be achieved?

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 9 / 20
 Data centre architecture Structured cabling

Structured cabling example

Back side of the Emulab cluster, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, US.
By SemaphoreX on Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA
Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 10 / 20
 Data centre architecture Structured cabling

Why structured cabling?

Even a small home network can end up in "cable salad":

Muddle of power, data, audio, video cables. . .
. . . from wireless router, computers, DSTV decoder, TV, tuner,
DVD player, XBox, speakers, docking stations
In a company network: hundreds of end devices, dozens of
servers, firewalls, access points, routers, switches, concentrators,
. . . How do we connect them all?
Not a topological question but a practical one!
Consider also workplace safety

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 11 / 20
 Data centre architecture Structured cabling

Why structured cabling?

Even a small home network can end up in "cable salad":

Muddle of power, data, audio, video cables. . .
. . . from wireless router, computers, DSTV decoder, TV, tuner,
DVD player, XBox, speakers, docking stations
In a company network: hundreds of end devices, dozens of
servers, firewalls, access points, routers, switches, concentrators,
. . . How do we connect them all?
Not a topological question but a practical one!
Consider also workplace safety

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 11 / 20
 Data centre architecture Structured cabling

Structured cabling: Components, 1

1 Work–area components: If there are end users: devices connect

to a wall / table socket or to an access point
2 Horizontal cabling: Wall / table sockets and access points have
cable leads
hidden in floor, ceiling, or wall ducts
to a separate room on the same floor ("horizontal")
3 Equipment enclosure: Consolidation point for horizontal cabling,
connection to backbone cabling
horizontal cabling ends in the back of a patch panel
front of the patch panel is another socket
in the socket we place a patch cable
patch cable connects to a switch port
switch uplink port forms the backbone cabling

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 12 / 20
 Data centre architecture Structured cabling

Structured cabling: Components, 2

4 Backbone cabling: Connects all equipment rooms on different

floors / buildings to the telecommunications enclosure
5 Telecommunications enclosure: Main equipment room,
contains core networking equipment
incoming uplink cable ends in the back of a patch panel
front of the patch panel is another socket
in the socket we place a patch cable
patch cable connects to a distribution layer switch port
uplinks of the distribution layer switches cross over to the core
switches
6 Entrance facilities: Houses the Customer Premises network
Equipment (CPE), the Network Interface Device (NID) that
connects to the local loop at the demarcation point

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 13 / 20
 Data centre architecture Structured cabling

Terminology home work

In your house / dormitory / room, determine:

What is your Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)?
Where and what is your Network Interface Device (NID)?
Where is your demarcation point?
⇒ You paid for it, it is CPE. You leased it, or the provider gave it to you,
it is not CPE.

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 14 / 20
 Data centre architecture Structured cabling

Unstructured cabling example

DHL server rack in Wommelgem, The Netherlands. By Jeminus on

Flickr, CC-BY

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 15 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

Determining the required floor space

Due to structured cabling architecture, equipment enclosures

are hard to relocate
Rooms cannot be expanded, only added
Proper determination of floor space important
Data centre typically contains:
1 IT equipment in 19” racks
2 Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
3 Air conditioning
4 Work place equipment (desks, chairs, work benches)
5 Don’t forget idle space for walking, opening doors and windows
Determine square meters of the room!

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 16 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

Determining the required floor space

Due to structured cabling architecture, equipment enclosures

are hard to relocate
Rooms cannot be expanded, only added
Proper determination of floor space important
Data centre typically contains:
1 IT equipment in 19” racks
2 Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
3 Air conditioning
4 Work place equipment (desks, chairs, work benches)
5 Don’t forget idle space for walking, opening doors and windows
Determine square meters of the room!

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 16 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

Determining the required floor space

Due to structured cabling architecture, equipment enclosures

are hard to relocate
Rooms cannot be expanded, only added
Proper determination of floor space important
Data centre typically contains:
1 IT equipment in 19” racks
2 Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
3 Air conditioning
4 Work place equipment (desks, chairs, work benches)
5 Don’t forget idle space for walking, opening doors and windows
Determine square meters of the room!

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 16 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

19” racks

Standardised frame for mounting

electronic equipment
19” (inch, 48.26cm) = width of the
mounted unit
Frame itself is slightly wider, 24”
(60cm)
Different depths
Routers, switches, sliding trays:
24” (60cm)
19” rack, PD Servers: 36” (90cm)
Typical height: 42 units of 1.75”
(4.445cm) ⇒ 1.87m
Equipment requires multiples of 1U

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 17 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

19” racks

Standardised frame for mounting

electronic equipment
19” (inch, 48.26cm) = width of the
mounted unit
Frame itself is slightly wider, 24”
(60cm)
Different depths
Routers, switches, sliding trays:
24” (60cm)
19” rack, PD Servers: 36” (90cm)
Typical height: 42 units of 1.75”
(4.445cm) ⇒ 1.87m
Equipment requires multiples of 1U

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 17 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

How many racks?

Rack–mountable equipment requires multiples of 1 height unit

Might be mountable without gaps (check ventilation slits!)
Other equipment can sit on a 19” shelf
Typical sizes:
Patch panel: 1U
Switches ≤ 48 ports: 1U
Routers: 2U
Servers (processing power): 1U
Servers (hard disk space): 2U–3U
UPS: 1–12U
1 rack = 42U
Minus air conditioning, if applicable

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 18 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

How many racks?

Rack–mountable equipment requires multiples of 1 height unit

Might be mountable without gaps (check ventilation slits!)
Other equipment can sit on a 19” shelf
Typical sizes:
Patch panel: 1U
Switches ≤ 48 ports: 1U
Routers: 2U
Servers (processing power): 1U
Servers (hard disk space): 2U–3U
UPS: 1–12U
1 rack = 42U
Minus air conditioning, if applicable

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 18 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

How many racks?

Rack–mountable equipment requires multiples of 1 height unit

Might be mountable without gaps (check ventilation slits!)
Other equipment can sit on a 19” shelf
Typical sizes:
Patch panel: 1U
Switches ≤ 48 ports: 1U
Routers: 2U
Servers (processing power): 1U
Servers (hard disk space): 2U–3U
UPS: 1–12U
1 rack = 42U
Minus air conditioning, if applicable

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 18 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

How much floor space?

Amount of equipment ∗ height units per item = total height units

Total height units /42 = minimum amount of racks
Don’t stuff equipment all the way down, or you lay on the floor
installing it!
1 rack = 60cm ∗ 90cm = 5400cm2 ≈ 0.5m2 floor space
Mixing 60cm and 90cm rack depths (on the same wall) makes no
sense!
Plus 1 rack for scalability
Plus 2∗ rack space to walk through. Racks have doors.
Plus aircon (wall space)
Plus additional equipment, if wanted
Never round down!

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 19 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

How much floor space?

Amount of equipment ∗ height units per item = total height units

Total height units /42 = minimum amount of racks
Don’t stuff equipment all the way down, or you lay on the floor
installing it!
1 rack = 60cm ∗ 90cm = 5400cm2 ≈ 0.5m2 floor space
Mixing 60cm and 90cm rack depths (on the same wall) makes no
sense!
Plus 1 rack for scalability
Plus 2∗ rack space to walk through. Racks have doors.
Plus aircon (wall space)
Plus additional equipment, if wanted
Never round down!

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 19 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

How much floor space?

Amount of equipment ∗ height units per item = total height units

Total height units /42 = minimum amount of racks
Don’t stuff equipment all the way down, or you lay on the floor
installing it!
1 rack = 60cm ∗ 90cm = 5400cm2 ≈ 0.5m2 floor space
Mixing 60cm and 90cm rack depths (on the same wall) makes no
sense!
Plus 1 rack for scalability
Plus 2∗ rack space to walk through. Racks have doors.
Plus aircon (wall space)
Plus additional equipment, if wanted
Never round down!

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 19 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

How much floor space?

Amount of equipment ∗ height units per item = total height units

Total height units /42 = minimum amount of racks
Don’t stuff equipment all the way down, or you lay on the floor
installing it!
1 rack = 60cm ∗ 90cm = 5400cm2 ≈ 0.5m2 floor space
Mixing 60cm and 90cm rack depths (on the same wall) makes no
sense!
Plus 1 rack for scalability
Plus 2∗ rack space to walk through. Racks have doors.
Plus aircon (wall space)
Plus additional equipment, if wanted
Never round down!

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 19 / 20
 Data centre architecture Floor space

End of Chapter

Any questions?

Peter Gallert (CN) Data Centre Infrastructure Management 1st Semester 2023 20 / 20